New recruit looked comfortable in his third international and may turn out to be the perfect foil for Owen FarrellFor a few precious seconds before the start it felt as if Marcus Smith had Twickenham all to himself. Alone on the halfway line, with England lined up behind him, Australia spread out in front, he bounced the ball up and down while the referee paced around and counted down the last few seconds before kick-off.Smith looked pretty sure of himself down there under the bright lights, the hardest 80 minutes he has ever played stretching out ahead of him. If he had noticed the 82,000 fans gathered around, hanging on his next step, one would never have guessed it from...
The coach has named a strong, pacy side to take on his native country but can he get Owen Farrell and Marcus Smith to gel?If there is one nation Eddie Jones hugely enjoys pitting his wits against it is his native Australia. There are good reasons why England have beaten the Wallabies seven times in succession since 2016 and high on the list is Jones’s instinctive grasp, both psychologically and selectorially, of which specific buttons to push.Not only does he understand exactly how the Aussies feel when they catch a glimpse of a white shirt but he also knows what they hate most about playing the Poms. Hence the announcement of an England side with Marcus Smith at No 10,...
Before he was caught in the T20 World Cup semi-final off a ball he didn’t hit, the Australia opener proved his mettleIn the end, the story didn’t entirely deliver for David Warner. But in the end, it delivered enough. For what has felt like so long in the compressed world of short-course cricket, Australia’s opening bat has been out of form, out of runs, out of time, and eventually just out. The one thing he hasn’t been is out of patience. Warner’s reservoir of self-belief is profound enough to hide Loch Ness’s secrets. When he faces a struggle, he endures it until it passes. As he has creaked and stuttered after a couple of difficult stints in the IPL, he...
The man who legitimised T20 in his homeland has had a lean spell but has sprung to life in time for the World Cup knockoutsAs Australia qualified for the Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals by chasing 158 against West Indies, the most important piece dropped into place with a click. David Warner is Australia’s defining T20 player, ever since rising to prominence with a pyrotechnic national debut back in 2009. His current captain, Aaron Finch, may edge him on career runs after 13 matches in the past year that Warner missed, but Warner has still played the most T20s for Australia. He more than anyone legitimised the format in Australia by crossing from it to become a Test success. All the...
Despite a stellar 2021, England captain will fly out this week knowing he must banish bad memories of past Australia toursAs anyone who has ever suffered from fear of flying knows, distraction is key. Anything to trick the brain into forgetting that you and it are hurtling through the ether in the cramped belly of a giant tin bird. Distraction. By any means possible.Booze might be the answer for some, the David Boon approach to air travel. Maybe you swear by that “make fists with your toes” thing or try to take your mind off the turbulence and terrifying sounds by strapping some headphones on and endlessly repeating the frightened flyers’ mantra about it being more likely you will perish...